


Guns for Hands

by bluejayreckoning



Category: Borderlands (Video Games), Tales from the Borderlands - Fandom
Genre: Don't Judge Me, M/M, also this is my first work on this site, let's say characters as we go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-24
Updated: 2017-02-27
Packaged: 2018-09-26 16:49:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9911993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluejayreckoning/pseuds/bluejayreckoning
Summary: Starting from Chapter Five, Rhys decides to take the matter a bit more calmly than he would have. Handsome Jack finds another way to get a body, and his views at Rhys begin to shift the more he looks over at how he's used the former janitor, but keeps it a bit to himself. Gortys falls into another set of hands, and things get a bit violent.( Chapters will be updated as soon as possible. Input is welcome. )Edit: This isn't straight from canon, there are a lot of things changed due to different choices and because of plot.





	1. Rhys' Chat With Jack

"What are you saying, cupcake? Don’t tell me you’re backing out once you’ve had your fun!”

Jack growled defensively, the screen as to where he was displayed flickered to match his annoyance and confusion to Rhys’ decline on the offer. All Jack wanted was for Rhys to be his first recipient and he thought it was a good deal of course.  
“No, Jack! I’m not doing it. I thought we were going to do this together, not have me--- have that--- thing be put into me.” Rhys retorted, waving his arms at the display, the machine just standing there… as if to prove a point in its own existence. “We are doing this together, Rhysie! You and me… in your body, just well me being in more control of your body kinda deal, but hey we are working together!” Jack claimed his voice raising a bit, still not giving in to Rhys’ perspective of the matter. 

“Listen, Jack, I’m not one of those employees to where you can just throw me away like some toy!” Jack blinked, taken aback by this outburst. “Woah-oh-ho, there… Where did that come from? I’m not throwing you away, nor have I seen you as just another employee—“ Rhys quickly interrupted, “Then what is it!? Apparently that is what is going on, otherwise you wouldn’t be suggesting to kill me once I became President of Hyperion.” 

Silence quickly overcame both of them, Jack staring down at Rhys from inside the monitor, now finally seeing how Rhys was taking this all in. “Ah, that. Well then how about we just think of another way, since you don’t want to be the first recipient, even though I thought it would suit, being a big fan of mine and all…” Jack slowly began to drift off. Rhys could feel relief wash over him, yet that didn’t delude the anger that still filled his chest. “Yeah, well you got that wrong Jack. I’d rather still be alive rather than have you stuck in my dead body and say, ‘hey this is us working together la-dee-da’ where the hell did you think that was a good idea!?” 

Jack scoffed, shaking his head like this was by far the dumbest conversation he was having right now. “Rhys, can you just calm the fuck down, I said it’s over with. Apparently having me in your body is a big deal, let alone I was stuck in your head from all the time we spent on Pandora; would’ve thought that by now you wouldn’t mind.” A low chuckle passing through the AI’s lips, which made Rhys tremble a bit more with anger. “YOU… Argh! I can’t believe this right now!”  
“What?” 

“I can’t believe that you would even suggest a thing in the first place and see no problem with it at all!”  
“We… are still not over this, are we? Listen, cupcake, I said that I wasn’t going to do that to you. We just have to find a better body, mainly because I want to save those psychos and bandits for later, for the Jack Army, heh that’s gunna be so cool.” Jack muttered to himself, thinking it over. 

Main reason he wanted Rhys to be his first recipient was because who wouldn’t go for the idea of a number one fan, and not to mention a not-so-bad looking number one fan as a good body? Though since there was going to be a problem, Jack thought he’ll save Rhys for another project. Kid hasn’t lost his value yet.  
Rhys rolled his eyes, crossing his arms, “Yeah, I get it. What person do you think would be a good body for you anyway with this… machine of yours?” Jack averted his attention back to the situation at hand, leaning more into the screen gazing at that said machine. “I dunno,” said in a matter-of-fact tone. “We could look into the systems and see if Nakayama left anything, or, hey let me look into something real fast I just remembered something.” 

Rhys allowed his curiosity to show, his arms dropping before taking a slight step forward watching Jack whilst he seemed to searching something but the screen he was displayed on wasn’t big enough to take his whole appearance into account. A few more moments later and Jack whistled with glee. “Oh boy, you are going to love this! Turns out a have a double-ganger nearby all along! And not just any double-ganger, ha!” Rhys frowned slightly at this news, “A… double-ganger?”

“Yeah, you know, kinda like a clone but with standards. With my face, has to be the best you know? But this one that I’m talking about, he should have seen it coming, ah this is hilarious!” Jack chuckled darkly to himself, now holding new information that anybody would have wished they didn’t allow him back into Helios and just like that a wall not too far away from Rhys became to open, white steam began to snake its way out of the cracks and behold a body case came into view. 

“At first I thought it was just too convenient for him to still even be here on Helios, but now looking into the files more thoroughly, I know now that he was a bit of a bitch to me. Can’t have somebody with my face on Pandora, or anywhere else for that matter, if he’s going to be a little bitch. So I had him locked up, suspended animation has its advantages, doesn’t it cupcake?” Rhys drew closer to the body case, his non-robotic hand wiping away the condensation on the glass before jumping back in surprise with a yelp.  
Jack raised a brow before inquiring, “What? Ohh—you weren’t expecting that face were you? Yeah, he has the face before I had this mask on my face, heh, handsome fello isn’t he?” Rhys nodded, trying to get his composure back. “Yeah... he’s… definitely handsome.” Just the way his face was… with that expression, that was the reason Rhys was taken aback. Rhys gazed back at Jack, feeling his gut fill with undesirable dread. “Should I be here… when you do the, uh, thing?” 

“Well in case you haven’t noticed Rhysie, I don’t have arms. Or a body for the matter, not until you bring that lovely piece of copy of me over here, we then can actually get down to business.” Rhys gulped, having hoped that dealing with dead bodies personally would just been let on Pandora. Now he has to deal with a dead Jack, and dead Jack’s body double just to have this dead body come alive for the dead Jack to possess. What a mess. 

~~~

Fiona was debating on climbing that ladder just to get Rhys, or should she say, that betraying asshole Rhys, and the beacon so that way she and her sister could leave this floating metal cog for good. Sasha on the other hand wanted to just leave, which Fiona would be more than happy to do such a thing. “Hey, asshole! What’s taking so damn long, get down here already!” Fiona calls up one last time into the death chamber, taking a moment to just stare up there for a few more moments before shaking her head glaring at the rotten meat and blood stains all around her. Sasha reached up, placing her hand on Fiona’s shoulder. “I think we should just go. Either that and climb this ladder and pry it from it, it wouldn’t really matter either way. He’s made his choice.”  
Of course, they both knew the outcome as to what would happen if they did just leave which made Fiona look back up, glaring at where Rhys was located, “Not without the beacon we came too far for this.” Sasha gazes at her sister, as if she knew that Fiona would come up with that conclusion, “Well I’m right behind you. Let’s get going.” Nodding, Fiona looked over to Gortys, who gave her an expected look of its own. “Oh boy, you want to climb me again?” 

“Yep, but this time, let’s not use too much of that boost just a little okay?” Gortys waddled over to the spot where she flung Rhys into the air and turned her head over to Fiona. “You got it! Just a little, but not a whole lot, right?” Fiona gave the robot thumbs up; Sasha went over to her sister a small determined smile gracing her lips, “Want me to come with?” Fiona shook her head, “It’s better if you stay down here with Gortys. Make sure no Hyperion workers come around and keep an eye on Goryts.” Fiona would have said more, but preferred to keep it simple.  
“You got it Fi. Just be careful up there. It is Jack’s office.” Just as Sasha said those words, Fiona began to climb onto Gortys, doing her best to keep her weight balanced; knowing that this act was hurting the robot. “I think we got the worst of it on this end.” Fiona remarks with a smirk, and just like that Gortys boosted her right up onto the ladder which Fiona grabbed hold in an instant.  
“Oh sh-!” The con artist caught herself, keeping hold on the metal blood-stained bars for dear life. “Are you okay!?” Sasha asked, gazing up at her sister. “Y-yeah! Just a little… shaken.” Gortys gazed up as well. “Sorry about that! It was a bit lesser than what I did with Rhys…” Fiona gulped, doing her best to calm her heartbeat. “I’m cool. I’m cool. Just going to… see that latch over here.” Slowly she began to climb up the ladder, slowly regaining her composure. 

~~~

Rhys wasn’t sure where to start, his mind going a bit faster than what he would prefer. The new CEO began to pace in the office, walking back and forth thinking to himself. Handsome Jack was back, and now he was being… inserted into another body… that looked just like him. Not only was Rhys rethinking a bit on his safety but how this went down. Jack just offered to off Rhys without hesitation – yet – went back out of it but who was to say that Jack wouldn’t do that again?

Maybe being president of Hyperion was a bad idea. Rhys leaned up against the desk and gazed at the now turned off monitor, shaking his head to himself Rhys couldn’t help but feel… he felt weird just sitting here, without Jack watching him. This was going to be weird now having a physical Jack around than the hologram in his ear, the blue body of pixels commenting on what Rhys was doing almost every second of the day. It was true it was annoying sometimes, but he couldn’t feel but a bit attached to Jack, not that he wasn’t already attached to the former CEO… another thought interrupted that one. Now that Jack had a body, what did that make Rhys? Surely there couldn’t be a second president… Oh crap. 

Jack was going to kill him wasn’t he? That was why he offered to off Rhys, he no longer had any use to Handsome Jack. He fulfilled that line of duty. Goodbye Rhys. You had a good run. Rhys let out a pained groan, rolling his eyes at that realization and face-palmed with his metal hand. Dear god, he was an idiot from start to finish. Suddenly, a noise from the floor brought the CEO’s attention to what appeared someone crawling from a deep depth of moral suffering, the secret hatch. 

Rhys took immediate notice to who that was, “Fiona? What are you doing?” Already had forgotten about how much time has passed during the previous conversation with Handsome Jack. Fiona crawled onto the floor before standing up, “Oh, you know; I was going to see how your new line of business was doing but I decided that beacon was more important.” Rhys blinked in realization before reaching to his pocket to grab the beacon until another line of voice broke through. 

“Oh—BABY! Is it good to be BACK!” A boast of laughter followed and Jack came through a line of doors, walking towards Rhys with new found enthusiasm. “Rhysie! Cupcake! Come here, give me that hug!” Rhys was about to stand up and get out of the way, but Jack grabbed the slender male and squeezed the poor boy with joy. After a moment of Fiona watching the two, Jack set Rhys down back on his feet, which Rhys let out a soft gasp of air having a hand on his chest which Jack ignored; Jack looked over to Fiona and gave her a wide smile.  
“And YOU…! Oh ho ho, you sure did help a lot back there. But, what are you doing in my office..? Oh right, you want that beacon right?” Fiona just stood there, glaring at the man before her. “Now, what’s with that look? Is it my face? Is there something on my face?” Jack muttered, putting a hand to his face, looking around for a mirror, though the act died short. “Aha, I’m kidding. Though sweet cheeks, as much as I would love to give that beacon to you, I’ve done a bit of thinking...” 

Just as that was said, Hyperion soldiers came running through Jack’s office aiming their guns at Fiona, which made Rhys looks around in pure shock and a bit of horror. “Jack what are you doing?!” Rhys exclaimed, backing up towards the desk once more. “Well, you see Rhys… That vault you guys want, I need. That Gortys project you have, I actually own, which by the way will be no longer be in your possession. I can’t let bandits—ahem, your friends, take that and, well, you see Rhysie, they would be stealing from you too. Since you’re the new man of Hyperion alongside me… It just wouldn’t be right for them to open the vault without you. I’m just looking out for you, kiddo.”  
Rhys shook his head slightly, and once again was ignored by Jack. “Take her away boys, and be sure to grab her sister and the Gortys project. Me and Rhysie are going to have a little talk.”


	2. Dormant Rage

Jack had taken into account just how Rhys felt about the bandits, or in this case, ‘his friends.’ To Jack, they didn’t come across and ‘friend material’, but he respected Rhys’ wishes not to kill them, or at least Jack assumed that Rhys wouldn’t want them dead. Yet, anyway. Jack walked over to his chair, sitting down with a sigh of content, “Man do I miss sitting in this thing. It’s great to finally be alive again!” Jack proclaimed, setting his feet on his desk, gazing over at Rhys who had a sour expression with crossed arms. 

Letting out another sigh, which held none of the happiness as before, Jack averted his gaze to the sight of Elpis, “Alright pumpkin, let it on me. I know you’re not too happy about my—our men taking your friend away. She’s safe, trust me. Just…” Rhys muttered in an unapproved tone, “Just what Jack? You couldn’t have her in your office?” Jack turned and looked at Rhys, “’Our’ office now. Listen, kiddo, I’m not used to running this company with another president, so cut me some slack, alright? And yes she couldn’t be in our office, mainly for the reason—“Jack cut himself off, before sitting back up, his feet planted on the ground once more. Rhys had a suspicion, which he verbally concluded, “You don’t trust her… do you?”

Jack continued to be silent for a moment before answering, “Yeah. I don’t trust her. Don’t trust her sister either, but they did do us some good, I’ll give them that.” Jack raised an eyebrow at Rhys, “As much as I love talking about them let me ask you a little tid-bit. What makes them special to you?” Rhys was taken aback by such a forward question, “Huh..? What do you mean?” Jack rubbed his forehead as if it should have been easily understood, “I’m asking you why you got so attached to them in the first place, Rhysie. What makes them special, because I honestly don’t see it. Sure they are good to look at, and I’m glad you kept it in your pants, but seriously? Why keep them around? You plan on screwing them later, or?”

Rhys rolled his eyes before reaching up and rubbing his said eyes before pinching the bridge of his nose. Jack must have a high sex-drive if all he can see was sex with the opposite gender, even if Rhys was into them he wasn’t going to admit any motive publicly to Jack. “No, I’m not… into them like that.” Jack raised a brow, “Are you gay?” Rhys waved his arms at Jack, feeling slightly put on the spot light by such questioning, “Oh my—no—I--- does that matter? What does this have anything to do with trusting Fiona or Sasha?! Can we just focus on that? Please?” Jack chuckled at Rhys’ outburst before getting up and placing a hand on Rhys’ shoulder, “It’s cool if you are. Oh and nothing, more as wondering what you wanted to do with them.” Moving away from Rhys, Jack continued as to what he was saying, “And if you have no reason for keeping them, we could kill them, but I’m sure you wouldn’t want that.”

Jack gazed over at his trophy case with the Atlas products, his voice strewn with thought. “So… In that case, let’s just take Gortys and see what’s hidden in the vault. Of course there’s going to be a beast in there, so we might just have to---“ Rhys shook his head, making sure he heard that right. “A what in the vault?” Jack turned back to look at Rhys, “Wait, waitwaitwait—are you telling me, you guys were going to open the vault without knowing what comes next? Oh man, are you lucky to have me, baby!” Jack began to laugh once more, this time laughing as if it was the funniest thing he’s ever heard.

“Oh man, that would have been an idiot move there Rhysie! You would have been dead, especially if you didn’t know how to control the damn thing! No you wouldn’t know how to control it, oh my god, ahaha!” Walking towards Rhys once more, Jack moved over and placed both hands on Rhys’ shoulders. “Listen, kiddo, I didn’t make you a CEO just because I could, so let’s make this a bit more memorable. When Gortys gets here, we see what’s in the vault, and we take it. The files gave me a bit of juicy information so I want the best out of this, and we are not going down or failing this. No expectations, cupcake, you got that?” A pat on the shoulders and Jack walked away towards his desk. 

“We’ll talk to your buddies, alright sweetie? Right now, just talk to Gortys. I’ve got some… planning to do.” 

Rhys was confused, and he felt unsure as to what Jack was planning because he knew Jack was up to something. Yet the way Jack kept touching Rhys, even if it was just hands on the shoulder or that hug from earlier, it felt… a bit comforting despite the other part of him being weary of Jack. His behavior was shifty, but that could be because of his new body that he regained not to mention seeing Jack without the mask was all too new as well. 

It was a bit intimidating but refreshing if that at all made sense, “Uh right. Where is Gortys anyway?” Jack typed something into the computer, “She should be coming in any minute. Keep her busy, your, uh, other friends are causing some trouble. I honestly don’t see what you like about these people; all they do is mess things up.” Jack mumbled halfway through his sentence before leaving his desk, “I’ll be back. And by the way, don’t give Gortys her upgrade just yet. We’ll do that later.” 

With Jack out of the room, Rhys slicked back his hair in a shift of nervousness. Why did Jack not want to upgrade her yet? Rhys wasn’t sure, but may as well listen. Letting out a yawn, Rhys sat down in the chair at the desk skimming over the paper work. The sight of the paperwork caused a bit of hesitation, as they were all based around a floating city, a floating city called… ‘Sanctuary.’ Rhys recalled hearing about a place, there were a lot of bandits there, even bandits that… Rhys felt his chest run cold. Was… Was jack planning revenge? 

Bandits from Sanctuary had killed Handsome Jack on Pandora, where he was trying to summon the Warrior to ‘cleanse’ Pandora of all bandits that way it was habitable for Hyperion to construct a planet of order. That could be as to why Jack was being all moving around and quick to retort towards conversation. He was busy making this happen, but why the vault? Was he trying to get another Warrior? Was there even another Warrior in the first place?

Rhys could feel his mouth run dry, but his train of thought crashed the moment the door opened revealing Gortys and a Hyperion employee bringing her towards Rhys. “Sir? You wanted to speak with this robot?” It was foreign for Rhys to be addressed as ‘sir’, but didn’t object to the formality. “U-um, yeah, just bring her over here for me please.” The employee obeyed, Gortys who recognized Rhys waved at him happily. “Hey Rhys! I guess I got in really big trouble, because they told me I have to speak to the president. Is this about the picture?” 

Rhys let out a small laugh while he got up from the seat, “Nah, your good Gortys. Thank you for bringing her in, uh… Whatever your name is…” Rhys muttered awkwardly, which the employee just shrugged. “Name’s Fred,” which just left him turning away and exiting the office, leaving Rhys and Gortys alone. Placing both hands on his hips, Rhys looked down at Gortys with a smile, “So… Gortys, my favorite little robot… How’s it going?” Gortys waved her arms from side to side slightly, “It’s going great! … I think. Where’s Sasha and Fiona?”

The mention of those two left a pit in Rhys’ stomach, “Uhm… I’m not really sure, Gortys… but good news is, we have the beacon so we can upgrade you soon. I do have a question for you, though…” Rhys slowly trailed off making Gortys look at Rhys curiously, “What is it Rhys?” Rhys hummed a bit in thought, crossing his arms all the while gazing to the side, wondering how he should word the question. 

“Do… Do you know of anything about a ‘beast’ or ‘monster’ in the vault?” Gortys was silent, probably scanning in her files about such a thing before answering, “I’m not really sure what you mean by that Rhys, I don’t really know what is in the vault other than what is already given to me.” Rhys frowned, “What do you know is in the vault?” Gortys raised a robot arm in praise, “Loot!” Rhys felt like face-palming. Of course there was loot in the vault, but still it left the question as to what Jack knew about the vault that Gortys was going to unlock for them. 

If they were going to control the monster in the vault how the hell were they going to do that? And with Jack running around like his ass was on fire since he has a body again, Rhys knew there was no way of talking Jack out of this idea… Despite that was what Rhys had wanted. He wanted to finish what was started but now it seems this was going to be even bigger than originally planned. “Well besides that, what else do you know is in the vault?” Rhys further inquired, making Gortys think it over once more before she shrugged. “I’m uncertain, but if there is a monster in the vault there is a way to defeat it right?” 

Rhys nodded, knowing that the vault hunters have the ability to defeat such things. Zer0 especially because he was really, really cool, “Of course Gortys! Jack and I can think of something—“ 

“Jack?” Gortys echoed, one of her eyes tilted. Rhys nodded, “Yeah, Handsome Jack. We are kinda presidents of Hyperion now.” Gortys quickly understood, “Oooh, wait… There can be two presidents? Can I be the third?” Rhys laughed at how cute that was, having Gortys as a president would rule. “Sure, you’re the president of finding the vault and being awesome.” Gortys cheered happily at that conclusion. “Watch out Hyperion! Gortys coming through!” She declared, and Rhys gave Gortys a small high-give.

“Glad to see my two besties enjoying themselves,” Jack remarked while coming up behind Rhys, gazing over the CEO’s shoulder at the small robot. Gortys waved at the other before confusion marked her robotic face, “What happened to your face?” Jack was taken off guard by this remark before regaining his composure completely, “Oh, nothing. I’m just back in the flesh, baby.” His words left his mouth smoothly, without a falter, even with this Rhys did catch that Jack had lost a hint of his previous smile after Gortys brought up his face. 

“Anyway, Rhysie, what did you get from our lovely little robot friend?” Jack quickly returned to business, no longer drifting over Rhys but returning to his computer typing away. “She doesn’t know anything about the monster in the vault, and all she really knows is the loot.” Rhys said coolly, watching Jack scan over his paperwork before typing away again. “Uh-huh… Well that’s a bit of a bummer. We might have to send some workers with her upgrade and see what happens. Watch in the background by what the vault monster is… That’s a bit of pain in the ass but that could do…” Jack straightened up and gazed at Rhys before averting his gaze towards Gortys. 

“Alright, Gortys, have a bit of a project for you. Think you can handle it?” Gortys saluted Jack which brought forth another chuckle from the first president, “Nice to see your enthusiasm, but what we need is for you to talk to Rhys’ little girlfriends, need for you to convince them to meet me and Rhys on Pandora. August and the others will take you to where you need to be, and I’ll send some of my men with you as well that way there are no complications. That will be annoying when I just got back here. Anyway, sweetheart? You and I have other projects, seeing what we are up against. I’ll hit up some of my best scientist and have them observe the vault. Sound good?”

Rhys nodded, “Yeah, but Jack do you think this is really a good idea? Maybe we should get some vault hunters and—“Jack suddenly slammed both hands down on his desk, “Oh hell no! NO VAULT HUNTERS! We can handle this BY OURSELVES! I got the BEST men and BEST equipment on Pandora and for fuck’s sake I am going to use them! I don’t care what Vault Hunters can do, I had control over the Warrior and by god damn that says something!” Jack raged, glaring at Rhys with pure venom. 

“Now, before I decided to strangle the living shit out of you for saying such shit, let me make this clear Rhysie baby; we are not going to make any mistakes. We are not going to let your friends leave Hyperion, they are not going back to Pandora alone unless they are corpses crushed by my very hands. You understand me? Now, be a good boy and take the robot to where she needs to go. The coordinates are on your ECHO.”  
Rhys nodded, practically shaking from what he just experienced, almost falling to the floor when he was told to go, scrambling out of the office with Gortys following right on his heels. The sight would have made Jack laugh naturally but having Rhys react in such a way made Jack feel sick to his stomach. He had no urge to crush the boy’s windpipes, it was just a threat. Still it felt weird. Maybe it was because he was in Timothy’s body, either way he had work to do. Shaking his head at himself, Jack went back to researching the coordinates as to where the upgrade was going to take place, to where the vault was. 

There was just something more he had to look into.


	3. Brought Together

The stranger gazed at Rhys who was still tied up where he sat on the ground, feeling Fiona’s glare deeper and deeper into him, but Rhys didn’t return the look. At the moment, he could care less about what Fiona thought about him. His actions were done; those actions couldn’t be altered. “Jack didn’t want a vault hunter; he thought it would be dangerous for what was going to happen next.” Rhys said slowly, testing out the words that spilled from his mouth. “What did happen next?” Came forth the soft, distorted tone from the heavily decorated red mask, the inquired remark was highly indifferent to the emotion that Rhys was trying to convey into what he was saying. 

“Oh, yeah Rhys, tell them what happened next.” Fiona intervened, her words more sour now that Rhys was done explaining his end. “I would love to know.” Rhys let out a sigh, finally looking at Fiona. “Listen, I’m sorry okay?! There I said it. I said sorry so whatever grudge you have at me, just let it go, okay?!” Fiona snorted at that, “Right, be sure to tell that to Sasha too, you skag-biled heathen. I’m sure she would also enjoy that apology, just as much as you enjoyed betraying us and throwing us back on Pandora like used toilet paper.” 

Rhys was about to say something, but became silent. “What happened next,” Fiona began, “was that this Jack-loving fanboy, decided that we go back to Pandora and activate the vault while we are on the front lines they stood back and watched in the background like cowards they are. If it wasn’t for me and Sasha, both him and Jack would be dead. Vallory did come in, but she didn’t make it. She kind of…” Fiona looked at Rhys, who gave a small shrug. “She got squashed like a bug,” Rhys muttered that line with a faint apathetic smile. 

“Where is Handsome Jack now?” The stranger asked, shifting on their feet, which Fiona noted with a knowing expression but stayed silent, awaiting Rhys’ response. Rhys looked at the stranger, obviously debating on whether or not to answer them. “Jack… He could be anywhere right now.” Fiona chuckled, “What? You think that your boyfriend knows where you are?” Rhys glared at Fiona, slightly annoyed that she brought their relationship in front of the stranger. 

“Shut up! He could. They did capture me at Atlas.” The stranger shifted again, this time Fiona commented on it. “You know, if you are tired you could sit down. Not like we can get up and stretch our legs.” Gazed turned to face Fiona, the stranger mumbled to themselves, before taking a chair from nearby and sat down. “About Handsome Jack,” the anonymous being kept their gaze on Rhys this time, “… and you… what was it that brought you two together?” 

Fiona rolled her eyes, “I thought this was about the vault.” The stranger nodded, “It is. But this is also about Handsome Jack. I want to hear more about this…” With that, the strange person learned forward, gazing at Rhys closer. “Go on. I’m listening.” Rhys gulped, feeling he had no other choice but to give in to what they wanted to know, “… A-alright… Not sure why you would need to know… this is weird, but I’ll tell you… can you… can you just back up please?” The stranger complied, and Rhys began to talk.  
\- - -  
Rhys and Handsome Jack had returned to Helios, and Jack was mad. He was more than mad actually, steaming about what happened with Gortys and the vault. Gortys had to be put down, and now her pieces were around Pandora somewhere. Jack wanted to find those pieces, but Rhys was uncertain if they could be found due to Gortys having… ‘Blown up.’ 

“Jack… Maybe we should rethink this over. Those parts could be anywhere right now, so… maybe if we just take a break---“ 

“’Take a break’ my ass, Rhys! Can’t you see?! That was my ticket to something more! Now she just blows up because she didn’t know how to fight!” Jack vented, throwing his arms up in the air, stomping around the hallway before re-coordinating himself towards his office once again. Rhys let out a sigh, following Jack again. “I’m being serious; right now we just need to take a break. What happened was intense, and you’re obviously stressed. I don’t see a problem—“Once again Jack interrupted, “Just because you don’t see a problem with this, doesn’t mean I don’t see a problem, pumpkin! We have to figure out another way to get into that vault—“

This time Rhys interrupted, “The vault, the vault, the vault. Ever since I said that is what I wanted to you, you made it goal to capture the vault beast--- whatever that thing is called. Guardian of the Vault? Whatever. What is the real reason you want to open the vault, Jack? Is it about Sanctuary?” Rhys stood there at the doorway of the office, arms crossed and eyes set on Jack, unmoving. Jack stood there, a bit dumbfounded by Rhys’ forwardness but turned around, looking at Rhys with a look of warning. His mult-colored eyes staring Rhys down as if he was planning to strangle the life out of him.

“Oooh, Rhys. You definitely don’t let on more than you know, you snoopy boy. Yes, there you have it, it’s about Sanctuary! That pathetic little floating town in the sky is going down, and it’s not going anywhere else but down! You know what they did to me, you said it yourself! What are you going to do, stop me!? Go ahead and try, sweetheart, I got things running that you have no idea how to control.” 

Rhys shook his head, taking a step toward Jack, doing his best to calm the other CEO, “No. I’m not going to stop you, you have enough reason to take that city down but I don’t think there is any use to stressing yourself more than you already have. That’s why I’m saying to take a break. What happened -- happened… But right now, all you’ve done since you got your body back was drone on about the vault and you haven’t even rested at all since you’ve got back.” Jack became silent, taking everything in before nodding slowly, turning away slowly and began to walk away until he sat down in his chair looking over his paperwork. 

Rhys frowned slightly, going over to Jack as well. “If I take a break, I want you to look over the paperwork and make sure the sales and production lines stay intact. I don’t want any slack from the workers.” Jack ordered, but he didn’t look at Rhys, in fact it seemed that he was avoiding that. “U-uh, right. I can handle that, Jack.” The first CEO nodded before getting up and walked over to the elevator. “I’ll be in my room if you need me. Just dial 421 on the phone to reach it.” 

Rhys was a bit at a loss when it came to that, but he kept his word on having that paperwork done and not once did he have to contact Jack during that time. Instead… he kind of got alternative help on some of the paperwork… Other than that, it was a smooth ride. Barely. 

Rhys had always caught on as to how Jack had looked at Rhys, even when Jack was still a hologram. At first, Rhys thought it was because of his imagination. That he was only overthinking their conversations at some point, or that he was reading too much into it. Yet, the more they talked; Rhys knew it wasn’t just him. Now that Jack had a body, it was a bit easier to read the other male. The way Jack’s eyes would light up, the way Jack would smile a little more or ask for another opinion or even to the point how his eyebrows would raise just a little more when they conversed over topics. 

Rhys knew that Jack had only had girlfriends, even wives for the matter. Jack would speak about one such girlfriend when it came to the cowgirl hat laying on the shelf, and how he would miss ‘fucking her pretty ass’ when he was having a stressful day. Rhys didn’t mind it when Jack spoke of them when the matter came up, which thankfully it wasn’t often, but he couldn’t help but feel… put aside. Like what he was doing for Jack was going unnoticed. 

That their conversations and time together was… meaningless. 

Rhys held a cup of coffee one day, tired from a week’s worth of paperwork and calling janitors to clean up janitors and other dead employees due to Jack’s stress and stubborn attitude. Setting the cup down for Jack, Rhys looked at Jack who muttered a soft, “Thank you cupcake,” in a mess of writing down information and signing some sheets of papers Jack waved at Rhys, in a sense of telling the other that he was done here. Rhys rolled his eyes and went behind the other, not even sure as to why he did this himself but for some reason he just did it, but Rhys placed both hands on Jack’s shoulders and began to massage the tense muscles. 

At the sense of the sudden touch, Jack jolted a bit in his seat and looked over at Rhys, “What are you doing?” Rhys mumbled in response, “Does it matter?” Jack chuckled, “It does when you’re touching me, pumpkin.” Rhys shrugged the more he began to knead into the depths of the other’s spine. 

“Let’s just say… I’m helping you relax.” Jack gave a please hum at Rhys’ hands pushing into sore and stiff muscles, bringing a sense of needed ecstasy, “Can’t say I’m disappointed… Man, you sure know how to work those hands of yours.” 

Jack leaned back into Rhys’ hands, wanting more of that touch. Rhys smiled, feeling a bit accomplished to have Jack pleased with him. “Say… uh, Jack?” Rhys started; all the while he reached down a bit and used his metal hand to an attempt to pop Jack’s spine gently as possible. “What is it, cupcake?” Rhys bit the inside of his cheek, feeling his heart pace a bit, unsure if it was his tiredness speaking more than himself at this point. 

“W-w-what… what do you think of me? Like… uh, employment wise since… you know, president and stuff.” Rhys couldn’t stop the awkwardness from filling the question, but Jack didn’t seem to be bothered at all by the question. Instead he continued to smile, shrugging softly to shift in his seat before droning out his words, “Ah, well, honestly kiddo, I like you. Think you’re great. Why?” That wasn’t the answer Rhys was looking for, which made dread fill his gut. 

“J-just… I’m… was just curious.” Jack peeked over at Rhys, “What? You wanna go out of something?” Those words made Rhys’ internally scream, his face flushed almost instantly. “Hey, why did you stop?” Jack questions, his voice coming more as a childish whine. “U-uh, I-I… I um, w-what did you j-just say?” Rhys retracted his hands back to himself, expecting to hear something entirely different but Jack once again asked. “I asked, if you wanted to go out with me since you know, you brought that question up. But with the look on your face, I can probably guess the answer, pffahah.” 

Rhys stood there, dumbfounded before bringing his hands up to his face and let out a series of stifled giggles, which made Jack laugh due to him knowing that they were both tired due to stress and catching up with paperwork, “Oh my god kiddo, you need sleep. I do too, but god that was adorable.” With that, Jack reached over and grabbed hold of Rhys by his waist which caught the brunette off guard entirely, and set the said brunette on his lap. “Honestly, I was going to ask you out tomorrow, with a bit of a surprise as well. But today is better than ever, which gotta say thanks for the surprise, Rhysie.” 

“Y-you were planning to ask me out?” Rhys echoed, his mind still a fuzz as to what just occurred, and not to mention he was sitting in Jack’s lap which didn’t help at that point. “Mmhm,” Jack murmured softly, tiredness extremely evident in his voice. “You just kept taunting me, cupcake. Looking at me with those eyes, heh, and that ass…” The redness on Rhys’ face didn’t fade a shade upon hearing that. “Glad to see that you still haven’t lost that fondness for me either, honey.” Rhys let out a soft chuckle, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well, for one, you suck at asking people out. But two, you’re good with your hands. Can’t wait to see where that gets you.”   
-  
Rhys didn’t like their fights at times, for one Jack was a very intense man. He felt strongly for what he believed in, if it was happiness he soared, if he was mad, the fire would run and burn. Though, Rhys was able to see parts of Jack that he didn’t expect, and that was what made Rhys fall more deeply in love with that man. Jack did love with all his heart, and that made Rhys feel special. Mainly for the reason that Jack had let Rhys in, just like how Rhys had let Jack in. 

Jack was affectionate, opening up more when he told Rhys how he became CEO, how he had control of the Eye of Helios before his ex-girlfriend and a few vault hunters betrayed him. And when Rhys asked why Jack never had any boyfriend before Rhys, Jack just simply stated that he was just a ‘Rhys-sexual.’ That line had made Rhys laugh when Jack stated that like it was a matter of fact and the whole thing should have been obvious. 

Yet, there was just one question Rhys had to ask, “Hey… Jack?” They sat at Jack’s room on Helios, the kitchen light shone brightly despite the dark space that consumed their outside window. Munching on a bagel, Jack looked up from his Helios Daily News newspaper and raised a brow, “What is it, pumpkin?” Rhys placed both hands around his mug cautiously, “… When you have control of that vault thing, what exactly are you going to do with it?” Jack took another bite, food stuffed in one cheek, “I’m going to destroy that bandit city, collect the loot, and take over Pandora.” 

Rhys wasn’t at all surprised by Jack’s nonchalant attitude, “And what will you do when you take over Pandora?” Jack shrugged, swallowing his food and turned the page, “Eh. Thinking about taking a short break when that happens; enjoy the fruits of my labor.” Multi-colored eyes gazed over at Rhys with a mischievous grin, “Pretty sure having victory sex is on the list too.” Rhys blushed, his robotic hand covered his face, “Oh my god, Jack, quit it out!”


	4. Trust vs Honesty

“Jack, I think it’s best that I go down to Pandora for a while, down to Atlas. I can maybe build a tracker for the Gortys pieces that way they would be easier to find.” Rhys spoke while rummaging through some documents. Jack sipped his coffee; sitting at the computer before frowning in thought, “If you’re going down to Pandora I may as well send some of the soldiers with you as backup. Don’t need some bandits doing what bandits do best and try and kill ya.” 

Rhys rolled his eyes at this, normally Jack would crack a joke or make a somewhat comedic hit at Rhys talking about Pandora, such as the times they had spent together; yet seeing as Jack was serious there was no denying that Jack had plans of his own while Rhys was away. “Right, you do know I can handle myself right? Before you got stuck in my head, I took out a lot of fricken bandits with a stun-stick.” Jack raised a brow, setting his cup of coffee down, “Oh, you can handle yourself you say?” Jack mocked with a smirk on his face, “Remember when bandits tried to steal the caravan or when Vallory had you pinned? Let’s not forget that time a few skag pups got you stuck in an outhouse, that one was my favorite.” 

Rhys’ face became hot the moment Jack mentioned the last one, “That was only a one-time thing, that wouldn’t happen again! They looked like they were going to chew my legs off if I opened the door, okay?! And they didn’t like pups, those were huge! About this big! How the hell could you say those were pups?!” Rhys exclaimed, doing his best to demonstrate their size with his arms full of papers, only making Jack laugh a bit harder at the sight of his flustered boyfriend. 

“Oh, trust me cupcake, I was there and they sure as hell weren’t that big. Sure as well you were on the crapper because, well, you sure as hell would have shit yourself if weren’t.” Rhys sent a death glare towards Jack, only making the older man raise an eyebrow and grin wider. “What is it, pumpkin? Do you want to shut me up?” Jack leaned a bit forward on his desk, taunting the young man, “What’s stopping you, sweetheart?”

Rhys growled more to himself knowing that what he was about to do was exactly what Jack wanted from him, setting down the papers on Jack’s desk Rhys grabbed Jack by his shirt roughly and kissed the man, first on the lips before continuing, deepening the kiss for a few moments before pulling away with a softened glare, “There. You happy now, asshole?” Jack chuckled, “Very.” Rhys let go of Jack with a sigh of contentment. “So, about me going to Atlas… I suppose I’ll take only a few of those soldiers, but only a few. I’m not some kid who needs looking after.” Rhys said sternly, but Jack didn’t take it quite seriously as the younger CEO would have liked, “Yeah, yeah. You got it princess. Don’t get your panties in a bunch over this.” Jack waved his hand at Rhys, as if the whole discussion was nothing but an annoying fly.

“Oh… And Jack,” Rhys murmured softly, his tone a bit concerned which had caught Jack’s attention quickly upon Rhys using it, “Have… Have you found anything about Vaughn yet? That time when he came through my ECHO, were you able to track the signal?”

Jack let out a defeated sigh, shaking his head. “Sorry sweet pea, I haven’t found anything. The transmitter that got a hold of your ECHO was too faint in order to get a direct hold of it. It wasn’t strong enough to lock, which was why it broke after a few seconds. We went over this, Rhys. I hate saying it to you, but I seriously don’t think—“ Jack stopped himself once seeing Rhys’ expression, once again letting out another sigh, this one even more defeated than the other, “You know what I mean. You’re way too hopeful for you own good sometimes Rhys, but hey, that’s what I admire about you. You got the good in you, whatever that means.” 

Jack grumbled, not really sure how to continue on with the uplifting compliment, but it made Rhys smile anyway because it was the thought that counts, “Yeah. Thanks Jack.” “Don’t mention it,” Jack smiled, once again feeling pleased with himself, which made Rhys chuckle softly to himself. Jack sent a glance over to Rhys, a cocked brow in curiosity, “What you laughing at?” Rhys snorted, “Nothing.”   
\- - -  
The stranger sat there silently upon hearing this, Fiona on the other hand just rolled her eyes once more, “Yeah, we get it. You two are love-birds. Call me when you finally get married.” Rhys sucked in a gasp of air quickly at that, “Oooh… Uh, Jack doesn’t want a wedding actually…” Fiona looked over at him, “Something tells me that you two would have been married already if he did.” Rhys shrugged slightly at that conclusion which made Fiona groan, “You two are meant for each other, Hyperion scumbags.” 

“Enough with your bickering,” the stranger interrupted, their hands tightening around the gun, “even though I agree with Fiona on that one, it doesn’t make up for what Jack has done. He still killed innocent people, and he still is… no matter what you say.” Looking right at Rhys since he was about to open his mouth to say something, but closed it at second thought. Rhys blinked, looking down at his feet in thought before looking back up, speaking again, “What… exactly have you kidnapped us for anyway? Sure, you wanted us to explain our sides of the story about Gortys, but now it seems this is more about Handsome Jack.” 

The stranger stayed quiet, saying nothing which in Rhys’ case, proved his point. “This can’t honestly be about Handsome Jack,” Fiona muttered, “If it was then—“ She became silent, looking at Rhys with widened eyes, “Wait a minute…” The stranger stood up, gun clocking and pointing at the both of them. “It is.” They stated a matter-of-factly, “He is back and he must be demolished from this world. That is the wishes from the Firehawk.” Both Fiona and Rhys look at each other, confused. “The Firehawk?” Fiona started, squinting at the stranger to see if there was anything she could pick up, any more information that would come her visually. Nothing came to any avail. 

“The Firehawk can’t save you.” The stranger muttered, but sat back down but didn’t remove the gun that was still aiming at Fiona and Rhys, “We still have more time. Tell me more, and maybe one of you can be spared.” Fiona raised a brow, “Who should continue? I’ve already told you what I know, and basically my story ends once Gortys exploded, so how about you just let me go already?” The stranger shrugged, “Not my call.” 

“Great. This is just great.” Fiona grumbled, “So we got to listen to this lover-boy go on about his psychotic boyfriend?” The stranger shook their head, “No. He will speak to the Firehawk about that. What I want to know,” they looked at Rhys, the gun shifting towards Rhys’ skull, “tell me about Atlas.” Rhys gulped down nothing but dry, humid air, a cold sweat consuming him, “O-o-okay… can y-you just PLEASE put that gun away… d-d-don’t need you p-pulling the trigger by accident do y-you??” A huff was heard, pulling the gun aside and once again placing it on their lap.   
“So-so Atlas, huh? Alright… well that started…”   
\- - -  
Rhys knew that Jack didn’t really lavish the idea that Rhys was going down to Atlas, on Pandora, without Jack. It was clear that Jack had come across a bit of separation anxiety, which was easy to read when Rhys wasn’t in the same room with Jack for a long period of time. That was probably due to Jack’s previous relationship before Rhys, the one with cowgirl hat. Rhys didn’t really like thinking about her, and he had read about her death when Jack wasn’t looking. 

It was sad, and Rhys could probably only imagine the damage that had been done to Jack. And it got really bad when Jack was stressed; Jack would come over to Rhys, holding onto him and placing his face into the younger male’s neck, gradually nuzzling him with soft kisses. 

The day as to when Rhys was about to leave wasn’t any different, expect with the constant whining and childish tantrums.

“You know, why don’t I just go down with you? We can look for the pieces together, Rhysie!” Jack protested, his hands draped around Rhy’s waist, holding him close with a soft begging smile. “No, Jack, you got work here to do. “Buuut pumpkiiiin, two heads are better than one! At least when it comes to me and you, other than that it’s just me.” Jack once again began to nibble on Rhys’ neck, doing his best to persuade the other. “J-Jack—stop it! My ride is waiting..!” Rhys chuckled, not denying that he did enjoy a bit of Jack’s antics. “When I get back, I’ll make it up to you, I promise.” Rhys leaned up and kissed the other CEO gently before Jack deepened it passionately. 

After a few moments of a long goodbye kiss, they both pulled away and Jack put their heads together. “Promise?” Jack echoed, a faint smile loomed on his lips. Rhys nodded, “Promise.” Pecking Jack on the lips once again, Rhys ran down the hallway waving goodbye, “I’ll be back soon!” Jack waved back, “Love ya, pumpkin! Keep that ass ready for me!” Rhys almost stumbled at that part. After a few seconds as if on cue, “Love ya too, asshole!” 

The ride down to Pandora was a bit short to say the least. It was short and a bit… nauseating. Rhys never liked Pandora, in fact he hated Pandora. The only thing good about it was the fresh air and the little bits of beautiful scenery from here and there, other than that, the only thing that ruined it… was bandits. That was one thing that he actually agreed with Jack when it came to killing ‘innocent’ people. 

Reaching his destination Rhys began his work almost immediately. Rhys started looking into files about Gortys to see if there was any way of tracking her parts and with success in came almost easy to decrypt and make it possibly for his ECHO to download the coordinates. The only down side was file storage, which meant once he found one part he would have to delete that file and download the other coordinates to her other piece. It was easy, just time-consuming. 

Rhys had been able to find at least two of her missing pieces, and with one of his runs, which of course he left the guards at the Atlas building, that was where he had been caught by… this ‘stranger’.   
-  
Rhys let out a deep breath, “That is basically all about Atlas I can really tell you that is related to Gortys. Well actually, all of what I know is related to Gortys.” Rhys corrected, gazing up at the stranger. That was until a huge burst of color and light came from the background, and with that came walking out of nowhere was a beautiful woman with red hair and… Rhys and Fiona gaped at her… She had blue tattoos that ran from her neck down to her arm. “Hey, didn’t mean to keep you waiting. Now tell me, which one is it that has the most information about Jack?” 

The stranger stood up, using their gun to point at Rhys, “This one is in a relationship with him, dear Firehawk.” Fiona shook her head, “Woah, woah, the Firehawk is a SIREN? That is so cool!” Rhys laughed sarcastically, “Haha, yeah, we are so dead.” Fiona chuckled, “You mean you are so dead.” Rhys sent a glare at Fiona, before sighing, defeated. “Nice to know I still have fans other than worshipers,” The siren let out a cocky chuckle before looking at Rhys with hard, red-hot eyes. “So that’s the one, huh?” An evil smile graced her lips, “Oh this is going to be fun.” 

The siren pointed at the stranger, “You and me need to talk. Tell me all of what you got out of them, and I’ll grace whatever you need gracing or something. Let’s go.” With that she began to walk away with the stranger following before stopping, looking at both Fiona and Rhys, “Oh and if you two try escaping, you wouldn’t like me when I’m angry. Keep that noted.” And then she was gone.


	5. Fire Enternal

Fiona and Rhys sat side by side; Rhys was starting to fidget feeling his skin crawl with overwhelming anxiety. It didn’t help when he knew that Jack was worrying his ass off at Helios, only reason Rhys knew this was because he just got a call from Jack, well… at least it was a big feeling that it was. It wasn’t like Rhys could answer the call with both hands tied behind his back. Fiona, though, wasn’t at all bothered by this outcome with a siren seeming involved with their kidnapping. 

“How is it that you can just sit there with that plastered grin on your face?!” Rhys growled, doing his best to see if there was no way to escape, despite knowing that if he did he would most likely die. Still there had to be a chance to get out of here, anything! Fiona shrugged, “My best bet is that I’m the one not going to get killed.” Rhys rolled his eyes, “And how can you say that so confidently?” Fiona hummed in mock thought, “Well, for one, I’m not dating a psychopath, and second, that siren didn’t look at me with death in her eyes.” 

“Yeah! Well!” The CEO tried his best to come up with something, but to no avail it came short. Rhys let his head fall between his legs. He was so doomed. Another call and Rhys felt his heart squeeze, he wanted to answer it so badly but he couldn’t. After a few long moments it went dead, silence filling the air once more, and this time Fiona gazed at Rhys’ silver metal hand with could have been described as concern, but Rhys doubted it was. 

“He really cares about you, huh?” She finally muttered, an eyebrow rose to match those words. Rhys nodded, “He probably knows what’s going on.” Footsteps were heard, coming towards their way and the one that came into view was once again the siren. Placing a hand on her hip, the stranger came as well, their gun still held with covered hands. “That girl, what was her name again?” The Firehawk murmured in thought. “Fiona.” The stranger bluntly answered. “Right. Free her; she has no business with me.” The stranger began to walk up towards the girl before the Firehawk reached out and grabbed the stranger, “Don’t kill her either. With what you told me, she might come to use later. Just be sure that she… doesn’t get harmed. For now at least.” 

“Well that’s really reassuring.” Fiona commented; a frown consumed her face. “Definitely wouldn’t ask you to do a motivational speech anytime soon.” The siren snickered, “Yeah, that isn’t my thing anyway. Glad to see that you noticed hotshot.” Releasing the stranger, they went ahead and freed Fiona from her restraints. “Thanks.” 

“Don’t mention it,” the siren muttered with a wave of her hand, “now get out of here. I got business with Jack’s boyfriend.” Fiona took one last glance at Rhys before running off, which irritated the CEO largely, “Yeah thanks for the help, definitely would recommend!” Fiona laughed, “Rate me five stars!” Then she was gone. The siren gazed at the stranger, “You get out of here too. Thanks for the help, by the way, but this…” She gazed at Rhys with murder written on her face, “… This is personal.” Rhys gulped down at those words, “W-w-what did I-I ever do to you?” 

The woman laughed, “Well for starters you did bring that shitbag back. Not so much as to what you did to me; it’s what your boyfriend did, and I’m going to make sure he pays.” Going over to Rhys she picked the man up and threw him over her shoulder like he was nothing but a bag of potatoes. “Let’s go pay him a visit, over at a special place I like to call, ‘payback’.” Rhys let out a nervous chuckle before whispering to himself, “Oh Jack why did you have to piss off a siren?”

The woman raised her free arm and out before her was a circle of various colors and light once more, and then she went through it. Rhys only saw a fade of blue that took over his vision with the outline of landscapes and buildings but it came so fast he wasn’t really sure what he saw until his vision went back to normal with a flicker of white and he was in a different place, their surroundings dark and gloomy. Looking around, it was unfamiliar, nothing he’s seen before. 

“Where… are we?” 

The woman tossed Rhys on the ground after that question spilled into their surroundings, her voice cold when she responded, “This… this is where Jack killed my boyfriend and his daughter.” Rhys was a bit in too much pain to respond appropriately, but when he did he was confused. “… His... daughter? He didn’t kill his daughter…” His mind went over what the siren said, trying to connect the dots. Jack hadn’t really spoken much of Angel, only the time when they were in the office, saying he wanted to visit her…

“He said he wanted to see her… That doesn’t make sense.” Rhys’ voice rose slightly, “How could you say he killed her?” The siren shook her head, “You don’t get it. She was right here!” Raising her arms at what could have been described as a machine, pumps broken at each side. Rhys took a moment to gaze around, seeing oil spills on the ground, knowing that they were nothing more than stains now.  
“She was here, Rhys! She was here and Jack killed her, pumped Eridum into her until she was nothing more than a tool. She was a tool, Rhys, and that is the man you are so-called ‘dating’. Roland, my boyfriend, helped her out of her misery and then Jack shot him.” Rhys looked at her, frowning at those words, “Wait… Roland killed Angel?” Rhys shook his head, “You’re telling me that Jack killed Angel even though Roland was the one that took her out?” That didn’t make sense.

Rhys glared slightly at the Firehawk, “Are you trying to make me go against Jack?” The woman placed a hand to her face, a smile engraved on her ruby lips. “Not even close.” She muttered, malice oozing in her tone, looking back to Rhys she shrugged, “I wanted to see where you stood on this. But it’s clear that you’re just an obsessed boyfriend, and that doesn’t matter anymore, because you’re going to be dead.”  
Crouching down in front of Rhys, the woman kept that smirk plastered on her face, “Let me tell you something Rhys, and maybe this might help you understand something a bit better about Jack. Once Jack had me prisoner, just to replace his daughter, he stabbed me over and over just to see me heal up again. And the best part is, right at the end I was the one that got to kill him. What does that tell you?” Rhys sat there, unmoving from what the siren told him, “That tells me you already got your revenge, so why go after me?” 

The woman frowned, a bit annoyed that he didn’t get it. “Jack is back you moron, you brought him back! The man who kills for fun, just to get off on it is back and you’re telling me that I have no reason to be angry!? That what happened is was for nothing!? Jack was dead and needs to stay dead! Don’t you see how much a psychopath he is!? He killed his own daughter!” Rhys yelled right back her, “You mean that your boyfriend killed his daughter! Listen, I don’t know much about Angel, he hasn’t given me much to go from there, but from what I heard you gave him plenty of reason to go after your boyfriend and it isn’t my fault!”

From that point, the siren punched Rhys in the face knocking his head down to the cement bellow him which resulted in a low groan from the man. “Pathetic.” Spat the Firehawk, “You are pathetic.” With that, the siren picked Rhys up by his shirt and dragged him over to a chair. “I want you to call Jack. A few of my best men are coming shortly; they’ll be waiting outside for my signal.” She began to untie Rhys, “Any funny business and your life will end shorter than that call you’re going to make.” Rhys let out an annoyed sigh before retracting his metal hand; it was already receiving another call. 

It had to be Jack. 

Answering that call confirmed Rhys’ suspicions, and boy was Jack angry, “Rhys is that you!? Where the fuck are you!? Why the hell have you not been answering my calls, I swear if something bad has happened—“ Jack leaned in close into the monitor, “Wait, don’t tell me, something happened didn’t it? Oh, god Rhys, I gave you Hyperion soldiers for a fucking reason!” The woman moved idly closed to Rhys, placing both hands on Rhys’ shoulder with a smug smile on her face, “Sup.” Rhys gulped, “Y-y-yeah… I kind of… got myself kidnapped… by a siren.” 

Jack’s eyes widened more than Rhys has ever seen them widen before, shock engulfed before rage strewn onto Jack’s unmasked features. This wasn’t going to end well. Jack had slammed his fists onto the desk, or at least the sound that came definitely gave that away, “LILITH! You fucking BITCH! What have you done to Rhys!?!” Lilith smirked, “Nothing yet. You better get your ass down here, and I might be able to spare his scrawny ass for you.” Rhys gulped, “Actually Jack—“ Jack wasn’t going to hear any of it, “Rhys has nothing to do with what we have between us Lilith, and you know that! Just let him go!” 

Lilith placed a hand around Rhys’ scalp, “Let me ask you something Jack,” Rhys let out a whine when he saw her tattoos begin to glow, “when I killed you, do you know what I did? I took this very hand and I-“ Jack shouted, interrupting Lilith on the spot, “You shut UP! You do anything to Rhys, and everything you’ve ever KNOWN will go down in ASHES! EVERYTHING!” Lilith leaned in, “Then you better get your ass down here, Jack.” Rhys could see Jack looking at him with pain in his eyes, but his face was scrunched in anger. 

“You hold on in there, cupcake, I’m coming.” Rhys shook his head, “No—Jack..!” The phone went dead. Rhys let out a pained whine, “Why are you doing this?!” Lilith removed her hand, looking at Rhys with a blank face, “Because I can. You Hyperion scum always think you’re better, that you’re above Pandora and its people, and I’m going to show you just how wrong you are.” Rhys balled his fists, “By taking revenge for what?! You’ve done enough damage already, you already killed Jack once, killing him again isn’t going to solve anything!” 

Lilith laughed, “Oh really? It worked the first time, so I don’t see a problem with doing the job a second time. No matter how many times Hyperion tries to bring back Jack, I’ll kill him over and over again, and I’ll make sure he stays dead better than the last!” Rhys shook his head, “You don’t understand what Jack is like. Didn’t you see him on the phone, you’re hurting him!” Lilith nodded, crossing her arms. “Good. That’s what I like to hear.” 

At that moment, lights began to flicker on; the ground beginning to shake with the sound of loaders hitting the ground outside of the residence, “Oh-hoho, right on time.” Lilith commented, eyes scanning the room. Rhys did as well, getting a better view of his surroundings. The place was ominous, leaving Rhys full of dread. Gulping, he looked over at Lilith who had a finger in her ear, most likely talking with her comrades with her ECHO. 

Rhys gulped, raising his voice slightly to get her attention, “How did you even find out about me? And Jack?” He questioned, having Lilith turn her attention to him once more. “It was simple. Hyperion news, more moonshots on bandit camps, and let’s not forget about the vault.” Rhys raised a brow, “You knew about the vault?” Lilith chuckled, “I can’t believe how dense you are, but I guess that is what Jack likes about you, huh? Yeah. The vault, it became news with a few of my people, I heard about it when a project of mine was done. Thought I would look into it. And here you are, sitting before me and now I’m taking Jack out again. It’s perfect.” 

Rhys felt somewhat responsible for this in a way, “… Your people?” Lilith nodded, “I’m the Firehawk, remember?” 

“Oh, right.”


	6. Please Don't Go

If by anything, Rhys would have wanted this to end quickly. He didn’t want Jack to die, and he didn’t want to die. He wished this was all over. That none of this ever happened that he would have listened to Jack; that he would be back at Atlas or at Helios with Jack by his side. Not to be here with an angered siren, with loaders bots shooting, explosions from grenades going off. Handsome Jack was not in sight and Rhys… Well he was behind something watching the commotion. 

He didn’t know what the thing was called, but it was a thing that was protecting him so he was thankful for that. Looking around, Rhys tried to figure a way of escape; the only problem was that he had no clue where to start. It appeared that the only way of escape was straight ahead onto a lift, and to get there was to run through a million death traps, and of course would most likely get the attention of Lilith.  
  
One of her buddy’s that came through was a huge man, full of muscle and liked to punch things apparently. Rhys recognized him as one of the vault hunters that took Athena, which made the CEO ask quietly to himself as to what had become of Athena. 

To think that the one who took Athena wasn’t only a vault hunter but a siren as well. Rhys shook the thought and tried to focus, but he couldn’t. His arm got another call, answering it he could see Jack’s face on the screen, “Jack, oh god, am I glad to see you.” Rhys smiled at the other, but Jack didn’t smile back, “Yeah, nice to see you are okay pumpkin. Listen, I have a way to get you out of there but you are going to have follow instructions. Think you handle it this time?” Rhys nodding, ignoring the slight jab that was sent his way; he knew he deserved that. 

“Alright, good, Rhysie, I need you to go right in the middle of the room. The place where the machine is and I will be able to teleport there and get you out. Make sure that Lilith and her buddies don’t see you, I’ve done my best to distract them with loader bots.” Rhys looked over as to what Jack was describing, but frowned and quickly hid again, “I think Lilith saw me.” Rhys whispered into the call, which made Jack growl with frustration, “That damned chick is going to pay for this! Alright! New plan! Hop on one of the loader bots and tell them to just fly out of there! I don’t care; I just want you out and safe!” 

“But Jack—“ Rhys started, but it was too late, Jack had already hung up. Rhys let out a deep breath but before he could move, his body was up in the air once more, “Oh no not agaiiiin--!!” Rhys was expecting Lilith, but it was actually the big muscle guy. Mentally, Rhys decided to just call him ‘scruffy.’ 

“Hey Lilith,” The man called over to the siren, “Isn’t this the guy you wanted?” Lilith nodded, “Bring him over here, Brick.” All said while crushing a few loader bots with her colorful orb of death. Brick did as he was told while knocking over a few bots out of the way and placed Rhys where Lilith wanted to be, apparently behind her so she could keep an eye on him. Turning around, she grabbed Rhys by the neck and began to drag him over in front of a big monitor. 

“Hey Jack!” Lilith called out, glaring at the unresponsive machine. Rhys was about to say something but she called out again, “Jack if you don’t come down here, your little boyfriend is going to have to pay!” With that Jack finally came on the screen, but it was flickering, probably from the abandonment it had suffered. Brick was heard in the background, “Woah, definitely don’t remember him not having a mask.” Jack seemed to be working on something before he spoke, “Lilith I would gradually appreciate it if you just let him go, whatever you have against me, I get it just let him go!” 

Lilith laughed, “You should have thought of that when you killed Roland, you dumbass.” Jack waved his arms in the air, “You bandits killed my daughter! Now you want to kill my boyfriend! Haven’t you taken enough from me?!” Brick raised an arm at the screen, “Haven’t you taken enough from us?!” Distracted for a moment as one of the last loader bots came and tried to shoot Brick who just easily smashed the bot to pieces.

“The only things that were taken were the things that you took from yourselves, you bandits! Just let my Rhysie baby go, we can settle this, just please don’t hurt him!” Lilith began to squeeze Rhys’ neck, “Get your ass down here, coward.” Rhys grabbed Lilith’s wrist, doing his best to try and convince her not to break his neck with little air he had left in his lungs he squeaked, this action made Jack notice, “Lilith! Fine, just, stop this already!” The screen went black, and Lilith had let Rhys go, from there Jack appeared just where he had told Rhys to go before he had been captured by Brick. 

Once upon seeing Jack, Rhys immediately ran over to him, which Jack accepted Rhys with open arms; only it didn’t last long which Jack moved aside and face the siren and vault hunter head-on. Lilith smirked proudly, “You know… I miss seeing that face of yours Jack; makes me want to punch it again.” Jack glared at the siren, “Glad to know the feeling is mutual.” 

Jack than smiled, his arms wide, “But I guess what I miss most is not only that face, but your buddy Roland! He was quite the kidder, you know, always followed orders like a soldier, but the thing he didn’t follow was the path to freedom, to prosperity!” Rhys was taken aback by this, feeling that Jack was making a mistake, “Jack… what are you doing?!” Rhys harshly whispered to the man, but Jack ignored Rhys, focused only on the siren. 

The look on Lilith’s face started to twist, losing its cocky nature to that of pure rage. “Roland did what was best, you bastard! He was the one that wanted to protect, he was the true hero!” Jack laughed, “A hero? What a load of shit, if it wasn’t for me, this planet would have been worse off!” That was it, Lilith charged at Jack, just like she did when Jack had shot Roland, and just like last time the collar was placed on her neck. Grabbing the siren, Jack let out a load boom of laughter, “Man! You guys never learn do you!? Don’t you know not to mess with me?! You don’t fuck around with the things I care about and expect to live!” 

Grabbing Lilith, he faced her and snarled in her face as she seethed in pain from the collar, “Feel that? I bet you remember how you wore this, begging for your little vault hunters to save you. Now…” He turned her around, making her face the scruffy man before her, “… How about you kill your friend, huh?” Brick growled, “Jack! You are going to regret this!” He began to stomp forward, looking ready to smash Jack’s skull into the ground but Lilith was already raising her arm up, caught up in past memories. 

“No, no… no…” She started to plead, her tattoos forming to a bright shade of Eridum pink, “… NO!” Her tattoos looked as if they were fighting with each other as to what color would be dominant, yet the color that won was the bright pink and Brick, he wasn’t Brick anymore, he exploded into a mess of flesh and organs in a flash of an eye. Behind them a scream was heard, a scrawny man came forth aiming his gun and when Jack was about to teleport, the man shot Rhys making the younger male scream in pain the moment they teleported.  
-  
Rhys doesn’t remember much that happened, all that came to mind was white. Just a bright white that consumed his vision, leaving his head hurting, feeling numb and heavy; and what accompanied that light was a voice. At first Rhys didn’t recognize the voice, it always came and went, becoming distorted and complex. Yet the more he focused on it, Rhys began to recognize it as Jack’s.  
Where was Jack? 

That question was left answered for the most part, since Rhys couldn’t determine where even he was at that point. That was until the headache went away, then his vision settled on white sheets that consumed his body. 

Looking over from where lay, Rhys was able to see Jack fast asleep in a chair next to Rhys’ bed, making a smile form on dry chapped lips; it filled the younger man with joy that Jack would care this much. Yet, Rhys did feel a twinge of regret that he would make the older man go through so much pain over him. A frown then placed itself on Rhys’ features. What even happened to Rhys?  
All that he really remembered was that Jack captured Lilith, and then there was pain. 

“You’re awake…!” Rhys jolted out of his thoughts and gazed up at Jack, which then and there made Rhys notice just how tired Jack was. He had bags under his eyes and his eyes were even bloodshot from the lack of sleep. “Jack…!” Rhys murmured, reaching out until he realized he was trying to reach out with his metal arm which had been removed. Shaking his head at himself he reached out with his other arm, “Jack… you look tired. No, you are tired, you need to go rest.” 

Jack let out a weak chuckle, “I was.” Rhys glared at Jack, which only made Jack smile a bit more, “I’m so happy you are doing better, honey. I thought…” His voice trailed off until he leaned in and placed a kiss on Rhys’ lips, “… It doesn’t matter know. How are you feeling, cupcake?” Rhys blushed softly before reaching up and touching Jack’s neck, “I feel tired, but happy that I’m back with you. What happened?” Jack let out a sigh, glowering to the side, “You got shot is what happened. Damned bandits, one of them was hiding out of sight until out pal Lilith crushed one of her buddies, which is a good thing by the way. Just you got shot, which sucks, but you’re still alive which is also good. Wouldn’t know what I would do without you, Rhysie.” The last line was spoken a little quickly, and another kiss was placed on the mouth. 

Rhys kissed back, before frowning, “It feels like a shot pretty badly… I can’t move that much.” Jack nodded, “You got shot in the stomach, really bad… Like, really, really, bad. Stupid hunter didn’t know where he was aiming, I’m guessing he was aiming at me but since we were leaving shot anywhere like an idiot. Left you with a big gash in the stomach, pretty sure it’s going to be scarred up pretty good.” Jack shook his head, refocusing, “But, we got something that they no longer do. A siren, and not any siren but one of the most powerful ones; which leaves us with one last piece missing and that is Gortys and the vault. What do you say, cupcake?”

Rhys rolled his eyes, “I’d rather rest up and so should you---“ Just as Rhys was saying that, Jack was already making himself comfortable in Rhys’ hospital bed, “J-J-Jack be careful please..!” Rhys hissed in slight pain, but it soon was replaced with a sigh of relief, Jack was holding him with ease, arms wrapped around him and a kiss on the temple where the port was. 

“Now, now, princess… You said we should rest. Let’s just do that.” 

Rhys smiled more to himself at this point, “Whatever you say, asshole. Whatever you say…” Rhys rested his head on Jack’s arm, getting comfortable from where he lay with his loved one. If anyone was to witness this sight, they would have known they were fools for each other and only each other. It was plain to see how much they had fallen for each other, not to mention to make Handsome Jack snuggle with Rhys on the hospital bed without strangling the man to death. 

What a sight to behold. If anything, Rhys and Handsome Jack did well deserve each other for them to continue with what they did. For Jack to go down and rescue the other CEO from the dangers that grasped hold, Jack could have easily left Rhys behind if he wanted. It would have meant more power for him as a CEO, as the president of Hyperion. 

Rhys knew that, which was why he didn’t care what the others thought. He didn’t care about the looks that was sent his way. It was just the matter of his and Jack’s relationship. If Jack cared about him just as much as Rhys cared about him there wasn’t a problem, despite their few arguments those arose from time to time, and sometimes those arguments were fun, or at least it ended with a few laughs.  
It was all a matter as to what effort you were to put into a relationship. And with that, that was a lot, which Rhys wasn’t at all complaining.  
-  
“What are we going to do with Lilith?” Rhys questioned once he was able to leave the hospital section, he had been disqualified, which he was happy about but the only downside was that he wasn’t really allowed to have his metal arm on due to the weight it brought on his body. It made the day feel extremely awkward. 

“… I’m working on that,” Jack admitted after a few seconds. It wasn’t often that Jack didn’t have a plan, and in this case Rhys had hoped Jack had a plan. “Where is she then?” Jack was silent again, “It doesn’t matter, what matters is that we get that vault open. Then we can probably use Lilith for what I want to happen.” Rhys tilted his head slightly at that, “Want what to happen?” Jack pinched the bridge of his nose, “I want Sanctuary gone, and I was trying to figure out this super-awesome idea to where Lilith destroys what she loves most, but I’m trying to figure out all the details.” 

Rhys frowned, “You want Lilith to destroy Sanctuary?” That didn’t sound like a bright idea. Jack nodded enthusiastically, “Yeah! Just imagine it, kiddo! She takes down the whole city, all the people screaming like ‘aaaa!’ Man, that would just be hilarious!” Rhys shook his head, “I like the vault monster idea better, kind of reminds me of a movie scenario.” 

Jack shrugs, “Have it your way, princess. I still like my idea though.” Rhys rolls his eyes, “You always like your ideas, Jack, it’s how you roll.”


	7. Well Shit

Time went by slowly, and Rhys had been able to heal enough to where he could wear his metal arm again, which to Rhys’ surprise came one of those days where he accidently walked in on Jack—Handsome Goddamned Jack—wearing Tassiter’s torn off goatee and pretending to be an evil version of himself. The scene that unfolded was nothing other than ironic. 

“MWHAHAHA!! Bow before your overlord, pathetic civilians! I, The Great Handsome Jack, will NOT be merciful to your demise! Instead you shall work, and work your puny lives away like the scum you are! Build me a monument of the bones of the deceased! I want to watch you wither away, wither away I tell you!”

Rhys snickered; holding back a set of laughs mainly because the way Jack had voiced it was purely cheesy, not to mention the goatee looked ridiculous on Jack, “Am I interrupting something?” Admittedly this wasn’t the first time Rhys has heard Jack openly dialogue his ‘evil’ plans of destruction on humanity, but this was the first time he has walked in on him during the act. Hearing Rhys behind him, Jack turned around quickly and clear his throat, and if Rhys wasn’t in the right mind he would have taken the act as if he was embarrassed being caught but Rhys knew that Jack thought otherwise. 

Handsome Jack just smiled coyly at Rhys, “Not at all pumpkin, did you enjoy it? Figured I would give my evil self a run down while you were away.” Rhys shook his head, a smile still plastered on his face, “You are a great actor, but that was just cheesy.” Jack frowned, a thoughtful smirk began to play on his lips, “What? You want me to go full out on you, cupcake?” 

“Even if you did it wouldn’t scare me.” Rhys retorted playfully, raising a brow at the older man. “What are you going to do? Make me build you a monument?” Jack leaned in close; his voice dropping down to a low growl before gripping Rhys by the neck, gently at first, “Oh no, Rhysie, something a bit more…” Rhys could feel the grip tighten slowly, “… dramatic.” 

Rhys reached up, holding Jack by the wrists, a bit uncertain where this was going, “J-Jack..?” Jack shook his head before slamming Rhys into his desk, yet was still in control as to how he down it as he knew that Rhys was still healing from the shot in the stomach he placed a hand over Rhys’ chest, “It’s The Great Handsome Jack, Rhysie baby, and he takes what he wants and does—“ Jack slid a hand down to Rhys’ ass, ‘’—what he wants.” 

Rhys let out a hitched gasp, feeling the sting on his back from where he was slammed into the desk, “Y-you want to do it here..? And now?” Jack leaned in forward, the hand that was placed on Rhys’ ass moving up to grip the belt that was keeping Jack at bay from the time being, “Didn’t you hear me, cupcake? I’m going to take you, make you mine sweetheart. Not that you weren’t already.” Jack began to bite harshly at Rhys’ neck, making sure it left marks all the while making Rhys softly moan under him. 

Gripping Rhys by the neck once more, Jack used his free hand to unbuckle the younger man’s pants, “Ah, tut-tut, Rhysie, with those kinds of sounds I would think you would be calling for a ‘hero’… I don’t think anyone is going to save you, honey. The villain in this world, always, wins.” Rhys got the notion that Jack liked to play pretend when he put on that dead man’s goatee, but not once did he have a feeling the man liked to roleplay. The more you know. 

Rhys bit his bottom lip, feeling his windpipe slowly start to get crushed again, “A-ah, y-you’re a… a fool..!” Jack tightened his grip upon hearing that, a wicked smile crossing his face, “Me? A fool? Who is the one about to get fucked, pumpkin? Surely not me!” Sliding the material past his legs to his ankles, slowly playing and pressing down on Rhys’ groin, which was still covered by his boxers, Jack’s expression becoming more pleased as he saw Rhys bit his bottom lip with a trickle of drool slipping past the corner of his mouth. 

Lessening his grip off and on Rhys’ throat so he could still breathe, Jack began to kiss Rhys deeply while he grinded close to the younger male, “Beg for it, baby, do it for me.” Rhys was just about to open his mouth to say something, but Jack tightened his grip on Rhys’ neck once again, making him choke out only a strangled sound. “What was that? I couldn’t quite catch that, Rhysie. You need to speak louder.” 

Rhys made a humming sound in the back of his though, either out of annoyance or arousal Jack wasn’t sure but he made the conclusion of both, “Come on, sweet pea, I want to hear that beautiful voice of yours beg for me.” Rhys could feel his body shaking, wanting nothing more but pleasure from Jack, once Jack’s grip began to lighten Rhy’s voice came spilling from the back of his throat in a harsh whisper, “P-please… Jack…” 

“Ah, that’s not my name, Rhysie baby. Try again.” Honestly, Jack would have started screwing the man just then, but he wanted to keep the act up just a little longer. Annoyance was evident on Rhys’ face, but he tried again anyway, “Please… Great Handsome Jack… I give i-in…” Jack began to ravishingly kiss the younger male, pulling the boxers off and started to prepare Rhys for what was to come.   
“That’s better, cupcake.”   
-  
It had been awhile before the topic of what happened with Lilith and the vault came to light; in fact without even mentioning about it seemed to do well with Jack, which made Rhys feel that the situation was forgotten. But he knew it wasn’t, despite that he did enjoy the silence on the subject. 

Going over the recently developed gun blueprints, Rhys frowned and began to correct a few of its errors. The last gun blew up in the tester’s hands, causing a big mess and few flaming bits here and there. One of the workers walked up behind Rhys, humming in thought at Rhys’ corrections. “I see now, we just added a bit too much of the elemental effect and that was the malfunction.” 

“Yeah, I think that was the problem too, especially when we had inspectors look at the damage. Once it infected the bullet, it must have caused damage to the reactors and that was the problem.” Rhys also added, smiling at the work, “But this should do it. Try this instead, and double check the work before testing it just to be safe, okay?” The man nodded, grateful at Rhys’ kindness, “Thank you sir!” 

Ever since becoming CEO, Rhys was still trying to get used to the fact that he was being addressed with overwhelming respect. 

“Oh, uh, just call me Rhys.” Rhys smiled a bit awkwardly, “You don’t have to always call me sir, maybe just around Jack just in case.” The other male nodded, grateful for Rhys’ concern and included input. This was a normal day at work, helping the workers so that there would be lesser causalities, for both them and Jack’s sake. With Rhys around, it has been calmer since… well; Jack vented more to Rhys than anybody nowadays in his own special ways on those occasions. 

Yelling was the most common way, but there were times Jack would just hold Rhys and grumble incoherently. Those were the times Rhys was thankful that they were alone, since he knew that if anyone was to catch them and make a comment, there would be another floating body in space. 

Walking down the hallway, Rhys hummed softly to himself in thought while checking off the gun malfunctioning off his list. Next was to remind the main office of a meeting with the Maliwan’s CEO, who of course wanted to strike a deal that of course. Whatever that the deal was, Rhys had a bad feeling about the meeting since Jack was hyped about it, saying something about past trades that didn’t go so well. 

Heading down to the office, Rhys gave one of the women a piece of paper with a half-hearted smile, “Hey, just here to remind you fine ladies about the meeting that’s coming up soon. H-how have you two been?” Trying to act smooth never was his top quality, especially since he’s the second president. One of them just looked at him over her glasses with an unimpressed look, “We’ve been fine. Thank you for the reminder.” The other on the other hand gave a flustered giggle, “Oh, hmhm, we’ve been wonderful. Thank you for checking up on us!”

“Linda, please.”

“I’m just trying to be hospitable, Helen.” 

They began to bicker with each other, which would have been amusing if it didn’t happen every time Rhys tried to get to know them better. “Uh, right, just let me know how that goes!” Rhys called after them when he turned on his heels and began to walk away, “We will!” He heard Linda’s voice call out with an ‘ow’ following right after. 

Helen must have pinched Linda like she usually does. 

Rolling his eyes, Rhys began his way back to the office where he expected Jack to pacing back and forth, or messing around with whatever was on his desk. Last time he caught Jack over at his trophy case pretending to shoot whoever went through the office door like he was some kind of sniper, despite the gun he held was not at all a sniper gun. 

Once entering the door Rhys practically stumbled forward and fell on the ground due to the whole space ship shaking, Rhys calling out, “We’ve been hit!” Thinking that was exactly what happened, but he unknowing to him at that very moment, he was so very wrong. Jack jumped out of his seat, wearing some kind of hat, which at first Rhys thought it was that cowgirl hat but realized it was a hat that held drinks.   
Getting up an employee rushed through the door, not at all seeing Rhys but instead completely focused on Jack, “It’s the Angel Core! It’s—it’s destroying Helios!” 

“What?!” Rhys exclaimed, completely taken aback at to what he just heard, but Jack on the other hand looked furious. “That’s impossible! It’s built to withstand any kind of damage!” The employee shook their head, absolutely terrified, “We tried getting a read on it, but it’s off the charts! It’s reaching critical level and we can’t control it! You and Rhys have to get off the ship! We all have to evacuate!” 

Jack balled his fists and went straight for the employee, “Evacuate!? Are you serious!? You morons can’t control a damn simple thing on this damned ship!” Rhys stood in front of Jack, doing his best to remind the man of his common sense, “If what he says is true, we have to get out of here! We don’t have time to be angry!” 

Jack growled, “I can be as angry as I fucking want to be!” Rhys faced the employee, “Tell the people of Helios to evacuate, me and Jack will leave as well.” The employee nodded and sprinted off, that was when Rhys faced Jack once more, “Don’t tell me you put Lilith on Helios.” Jack kept his mouth shut and Rhys raised his arms up in the air, “Oh my fucking god Jack, you put Lilith on Helios.” Jack simply crossed his arms, “Well I didn’t tell you that.” 

“In the Angel Core, was that—“ Jack let out a sigh, “We’ll discuss this later, Rhys, let’s just grab out things and go.” Rhys shook his head, obviously pissed, “I can’t believe you, Jack.”


End file.
